Vacation

A vacation is defined as "a general leave of absence from a regular occupation for rest or recreation." As the PPC uses the term, though, the definition runs more like "a mythical, nirvana-like state in which the console does not beep and is not, in fact, present at all."

While the PPC Manual says vacations were frequent during the reign of the Mysterious Somebody, they are now infamously rare. Some agents believe they are impossible to get, but they can be earned. Generally, this is done by either performing particularly well in a mission (recruiting new agents seems to help one's chances) or by pestering the Flowers until they offer a vacation just to shut the agent up.

Vacations aren't typically very long, and many agents (such as Jay and Acacia, on their visit to the OFUM) end up taking a "working holiday," but the time given is generally the agent's to spend; a temporary visit home or to a favorite continuum seems to be one of the more common vacation choices. Some agents use the vacation time given to recruit others, but it isn't known if this is a particularly frequent choice.

Evidence of Vacations

Stories listed in chronological order according to when they take place on the HQ Standard Timeline, as near as can be determined.

• "Vacation at OFUM," Agents Jay and Acacia (DMS), c. April 2002
  • The Original Series agents take what ends up being a working vacation at the Official Fanfiction University of Middle-earth.
• "the suicide (and Diocletian!) vacatoin albem" (sic) by Agents Suicide and Diocletian (DMS), The Multiverse Monitor, ed. Starwind Rohana and Estelnar Celebduin, August 2006
  • Su and Dio's photo album shows a whirlwind tour across multiple continua. Since the Monitor printed it, we may never know how much of it (if any) really happened.
• "Vacation" (NSFB) and "Reconciled," Agents Laburnum and Foxglove (DMS), Stormsong and Skyfire (DBS), and Drake and Naomi (DMS), September 2007
  • Three sets of agents (and two children) miraculously visit World One at the same time.
• "Once Upon a Time in HQ," Agents Miriam Collins and Cara Fielding (DMS - LotR), July 2009
  • New recruit Miriam mentions having been recruited by her older brother, already an agent, during his vacation at home.
• "A Night at the Movies" (Mass Effect) and "Buy Victory Bonds!" (Kingdom Hearts), Agents Danny Richardson and Laura Dukes (DMS; DIAU), September 2010
  • The agents are granted a vacation as a reward for their good work. Their next mission reveals they spent it on Ember Island in the Airbenderverse.
• "Azerest and Relaxation," Agents Aviator and Zeb (DMS), July 2016
  • The Flowers grant a brief vacation on a recommendation from FicPsych.
• "Ditching Wings," Recruit Mellon with Agents Derik and Gall (DMS) and their son Gadrik, July 2021
  • Gall takes an unusual escort mission into a Discworld goodfic as an excuse for a family camping trip.
• The Colour Swap arc of the Four Demonly Kings spin-off (episodes 45 to 52), February 2023
  • The plot of this arc is kick-started when the Four Demonly Kings take up part-time work at a maid café in New Caledonia to raise money for a vacation.